3.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
The need of a ubiquitous language
A ubiquitous language is a lexicon of keywords shared by every
actor of the software life cycle (Evans 2003):
the model is the backbone of a language used by all
members. Because of the binding of model and
implementation, developers can talk about the program
in this language. They can communicate with domain
experts without translation. And because of the language
is based on the model, our natural linguistic abilities can
be turned to reﬁning the model itself.
The relation between language and the model is an expanding
circle which permit people involved in software to augment their
shared knowledge. It is central to avoid frictions between
developers and customers.
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5.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
A traﬃc monitoring project 1/2
A ﬁctional dialogue about a ubiquitous language establishment
• Developer: We want to monitor air traﬃc. Where
do we start?
• Expert: Let’s start with the basics. All this traﬃc is
made up of planes. Each plane takes oﬀ from a
departure place, and lands at a destination place.
• Developer: That’s easy. When it ﬂies, the plane
can just choose any air path the pilots like? Is it up
to them to decide which way they should go, as long
as they reach destination?
• Expert: Oh, no. The pilots receive a route they
must follow. And they should stay on that route as
close as possible.
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6.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
A traﬃc monitoring project 2/2
Ubiquitous language is a conversational convention
• Developer: I’m thinking of this route as a 3D path
in the air. If we use a Cartesian system of
coordinates, then the route is simply a series of 3D
points.
• Expert: I don’t think so. We don’t see route that
way. The route is actually the projection on the
ground of the expected air path of the airplane. The
route goes through a series of points on the ground
determined by their latitude and longitude.
DDD Quickly, InfoQ.com
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7.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
DDD and XP user stories: my claim
How the ubiquitous language enters design in a XP team
User stories describe something that is understandable by the
customer or a proxy, e.g. a domain expert. If the ubiquitous
language is externalized during the design process my claim is that
ubiquitous language evolution and change is easier to maintain.
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8.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
DDD and XP user stories: my claim
How the ubiquitous language enters design in a XP team
User stories describe something that is understandable by the
customer or a proxy, e.g. a domain expert. If the ubiquitous
language is externalized during the design process my claim is that
ubiquitous language evolution and change is easier to maintain.
They risk to fail if the ubiquitous language is not at least partially
established before starting to write down user stories.
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10.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Cognitive mapping and ubiquitous language
Customers and domain experts usually say that user stories fail to
capture the “big picture”. On the contrary, cognitive mapping
techniques proved well in make the “big picture” (Gestalt) clear
and shared in groups, hence they can be used as an eﬀective tool
to establish the ubiquitous language.
Wikimaps are an evolution of cognitive mapping, where deﬁnitions
into the cognitive mapping nodes are wiki pages (we see them
later).
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24.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Hierarchical fashion and cross-linking
In concept maps, general concepts are at the top of the map and
less general concepts are arranged hierarchically below.
Cross-links are links that put into relations concepts in diﬀerent
segments or domains.
Note that in the previous map there were no cross-links, and the
map itself was very simple indeed.
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26.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
How to build a concept map
1. Start from a Focus Question, i.e. it should cleary states the issue as
an open problem or topic. Prefer “how” and “why” questions
(descriptive and explicative) to “what” or “who” ones (prescriptive
and classiﬁcatory). If the problem/topic is very hard, let an expert
in the ﬁeld prepare an “expert skeleton” map.
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27.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
How to build a concept map
1. Start from a Focus Question, i.e. it should cleary states the issue as
an open problem or topic. Prefer “how” and “why” questions
(descriptive and explicative) to “what” or “who” ones (prescriptive
and classiﬁcatory). If the problem/topic is very hard, let an expert
in the ﬁeld prepare an “expert skeleton” map.
2. Then build a list of concept as a parking lot, as a set of Post-its.
Avoid “sentences in the boxes”.
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28.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
How to build a concept map
1. Start from a Focus Question, i.e. it should cleary states the issue as
an open problem or topic. Prefer “how” and “why” questions
(descriptive and explicative) to “what” or “who” ones (prescriptive
and classiﬁcatory). If the problem/topic is very hard, let an expert
in the ﬁeld prepare an “expert skeleton” map.
2. Then build a list of concept as a parking lot, as a set of Post-its.
Avoid “sentences in the boxes”.
3. Organize your concepts in domains (horizontal axis) and in
generality (vertical axis) and deﬁne the relations between them.
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29.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
How to build a concept map
1. Start from a Focus Question, i.e. it should cleary states the issue as
an open problem or topic. Prefer “how” and “why” questions
(descriptive and explicative) to “what” or “who” ones (prescriptive
and classiﬁcatory). If the problem/topic is very hard, let an expert
in the ﬁeld prepare an “expert skeleton” map.
2. Then build a list of concept as a parking lot, as a set of Post-its.
Avoid “sentences in the boxes”.
3. Organize your concepts in domains (horizontal axis) and in
generality (vertical axis) and deﬁne the relations between them.
4. Reﬁne your concept map adding cross-links.
17/41

30.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
How to build a concept map
1. Start from a Focus Question, i.e. it should cleary states the issue as
an open problem or topic. Prefer “how” and “why” questions
(descriptive and explicative) to “what” or “who” ones (prescriptive
and classiﬁcatory). If the problem/topic is very hard, let an expert
in the ﬁeld prepare an “expert skeleton” map.
2. Then build a list of concept as a parking lot, as a set of Post-its.
Avoid “sentences in the boxes”.
3. Organize your concepts in domains (horizontal axis) and in
generality (vertical axis) and deﬁne the relations between them.
4. Reﬁne your concept map adding cross-links.
5. Eventually link your concept map with previous ones, so to
demonstrate that your understanding is not limited to a single
concept map, i.e. build a Knowledge Model (Ca˜as 2003).
n
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33.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Advantages of paper-and-pencil mind mapping
It’s easy. Take a A3 sheet of paper landscape and write the topic,
problem or subject in the center. Then place the BOIs and go
along.
They are perfect for single-user mapping, where you don’t share
the map itself – they may be even confusing to others, but clear
for you.
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34.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Disadvantages of paper-and-pencil mind mapping
It’s not easy to copy and share. It’s not easy to correct errors –
more important ideas should be close to the center. In fact, you
often don’t recognize BOIs at the ﬁrst glance.
On the contrary, electronic maps may even be route maps to
resources as well (other maps, music, videos, etc.)
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39.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Mind mapping is fast and easy
A mind map is a tree structure of keywords and they relations. It
has a radiant shape and is much more rich in colours, pictures, and
drawings compared with concept or dialogue maps.
Human brains recognize shapes and drawings better than words
and numbers, so if you want to remember ideas give them a good
look.
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40.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Mind mapping is fast and easy
A mind map is a tree structure of keywords and they relations. It
has a radiant shape and is much more rich in colours, pictures, and
drawings compared with concept or dialogue maps.
Human brains recognize shapes and drawings better than words
and numbers, so if you want to remember ideas give them a good
look.
Be evocative.
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44.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
The risk with mind mapping is information noise!
A mind map has a loose syntax and semantics. Unlike concept and
dialogue maps, nodes hasn’t any a-priori type and their position in
the map is meaningless. Moreover, arcs are not taggable, and
relations are nodes as well.
The risk of mind mapping is to add useless informations in the
map itself, e.g. colours that have more than one meaning. This is
particularly true in collective maps.
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45.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Dialogue maps as solutions to wicked problems
Compendium is based on the conversational or dialogue mapping
approach and derived from Issue-Based Information System (IBIS).
Horst Rittel developed IBIS in the 1970s as a method to solve
wicked problems.
Unlike tame problems, in the case of wicked problems the problem
solving approach doesn’t ﬁt.
Links (arcs) may be tagged as in the concept map approach.
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46.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Dialogue maps as group support
Dialogue mapping is particulary useful in groups, i.e. supporting
the continous dialogue among stakeholders in the problem in order
to reframe.
Every misunderstanding or disagreement should be reframed as an
issue or in an inquiry, avoiding the Answer Reﬂex (the loop
question-justiﬁcation).
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51.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Dialogue mapping made easy
Before every node content, write:
• “?” if it is a Question;
• “:” if it is an Idea;
• “+” if it is an Idea Pro;
• “-” if it is an Idea Con;
• “!” if it is a Decision.
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53.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Known mistakes made by beginners in mapping
More than one. The main mistake – in every cognitive mapping
approach – is not to analyse ideas, i.e. put more than one ideas in
a single node (for example, put a whole sentence in a node, instead
of chunking).
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54.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Known mistakes made by beginners in mapping
More than one. The main mistake – in every cognitive mapping
approach – is not to analyse ideas, i.e. put more than one ideas in
a single node (for example, put a whole sentence in a node, instead
of chunking).
Class error. A common mistake in concept maps is to put a node
either too high (abstract) or too low (concrete) in the map itself.
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55.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Known mistakes made by beginners in mapping
More than one. The main mistake – in every cognitive mapping
approach – is not to analyse ideas, i.e. put more than one ideas in
a single node (for example, put a whole sentence in a node, instead
of chunking).
Class error. A common mistake in concept maps is to put a node
either too high (abstract) or too low (concrete) in the map itself.
Importance. A common mistake in mind maps is to put a node
either too distant (less important) or too close (more important)
to the center.
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56.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
Known mistakes made by beginners in mapping
More than one. The main mistake – in every cognitive mapping
approach – is not to analyse ideas, i.e. put more than one ideas in
a single node (for example, put a whole sentence in a node, instead
of chunking).
Class error. A common mistake in concept maps is to put a node
either too high (abstract) or too low (concrete) in the map itself.
Importance. A common mistake in mind maps is to put a node
either too distant (less important) or too close (more important)
to the center.
Wrong type. A common mistake in dialogue maps is to put a
Question in a Idea or using a Question node for judgements (false
questions).
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57.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
When cognitive mapping fail to help ubiquitous language
• if you are catched in either requirement or developing gold
plating;
• if you convey more than one concepts in the same node;
• if you want to establish once for all (the “Cinderella
Syndrom”);
• if you consider the technique as a silver bullet;
• if you forget the principle of simplicity!
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59.
Introduction Cognitive Mapping Concept Mapping Mind maps Dialogue Mapping Wikimaps! Conclusions
JooB enters the market!
A new way to improve your professional life!
Three groups: Domain Experts, Development Team One and
Development Team Two.
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